Cheney: Snowden is a 'traitor,' possibly Chinese spy

6/16/13 9:18 AM EDT

Former Vice President Dick Cheney sees Edward Snowden as a "traitor" for revealing classified information about U.S. surveillance programs and that he's done some of the worst damage to national security in recent history.

"I think he has committed crimes in effect by violating agreements given the position he had. He was a contractor employee, but he obviously was granted top secret clearance," Cheney said on "Fox News Sunday."

"I think it's one of the worst occasions in my memory of somebody with access to classified information doing enormous damage to the national security interests of the United States," he added.

Cheney said he's suspicious of the decision by Snowden, who was a Booz Allen Hamilton contractor working for the National Security Agency, to travel to Hong Kong and to, apparently, share intelligence information with the Chinese. Asked if he thinks Snowden is a Chinese spy, Cheney said he might be.

"I'm deeply suspicious obviously because he went to China. That's not a place where you would ordinarily want to go if you are interested in freedom, liberty and so forth," Cheney said. "It raises questions whether or not he had that kind of connection before he did this."

Cheney said he is also "very, very worried that [Snowden] still has additional information that he hasn't released yet, that the Chinese would welcome the opportunity and probably willing to provide immunity for him or sanctuary for him, if you will, in exchange for what he presumably knows or doesn't know."